Powder Coat v Diamond Cut?
 

Hi there,

I've OEM 20" rims that are in a pretty bad way. I've had quotes in from some refurb operators and the pricing is roughly €80 - €150 per wheel depending on the finish.

I'm wondering what folks think would be best. Keep as per the OEM or just go Powder Coat? BTW, following is the process they outlined:

Diamond Cut €150 per wheel
After tyre removal wheel is undergoing full chemical paint strip , then we proced with shot blasting for aquiring of better adesion of coating , we use 2- 3 stage powder coating and water painting - Powder Primer , Original or different paint if required , than procced to Diamond cutting . We own to date the most advanced equipment in the country that is replicating the finish of the cut directly to a European standard. That means there is no visible difference in quality of the cut compared to original european finish. After diamond cutting the wheel has acrylic powder lacquer applied - another ultimate solution in wheel refurbishment market, the lacquer is durable and hardwearing , jet wash friendly and cleaning chemicals resistant. At the very end we are refitting the tyres on our lever less tyre equipment and balancing the wheels - so the product is ready to go.

Powder Coat €80 per wheel
As above re chemical strip and shot blast but powder coat finish.

Let me know were you getting it done I spent 3 days taking mine off only Done one wheel

Diamond cut is only worth the extra expense if the car doesn't get heavy use (e.g. as a daily driver), as the surface finish is almost impossible to protect fully, no matter what the provider says or what finish they/you use to protect it.

PS: even if you DC, it won't give you a "true" OEM finish, as the inside face of the 20" OEM wheels are finished differently, and completely impossible to replicate.

Powder-coating wheels is a cheap and nasty shortcut to a proper paint process IMO. You lose a lot of definition in the detail because the powder goes on so thick, and because its basically a layer of plastic it flakes off in large chunks if it gets damaged.

Whether you can diamond-cut really depends on how many times it's been done before. On the 20" wheels its very obvious when a wheel has been cut too many times as the fillets at the edge of the spokes start to disappear towards the centre. Once they have gone at the centre, the caps stick out from the wheel surface in a very awkward fashion.

Post a pic of one of the wheels and I can point out where this happens and whether yours have any more room for cutting +++

Personally, I'd just wet-paint them Avus silver :)

Hi Craig,

I'm still shopping around....haven't decided on what finish etc. I need new tyres also so it's going to be circa 1500 quid spend when all is said and done....

Thanks Tintin...

My problem is exactly that. It is a daily driver, albeit i only do about 3k miles a year. Not sure about you, but i seem to always scuff the rear passenger side and clip corners etc....you would think i'd be used to the size of the car at this stage!!!

Hi Mikki, they've not been refurbed before so I think i should be OK getting these back to as close as factory as possible. The toss up was between powder coat and DF but i think based on what you say, the 150 additional will be worth it. I need new centre caps also so that adds another 200 for 4 new OEM ones off Audi...

Looks like they may have been done once so you might be ok getting another cut, but only a light one. If that corrosion at the centre is quite deep you're probably better off getting them painted.

Centre caps from Audi are about £140 a set, but they all come scratched so bear that in mind if you want them flawless. They are unable to pack them properly from the factory so they all get bounced around loose in transit - I bought five sets and returned them all with damage. All they need to do is make them with some sort of film protecting the polished edge, but they just come plain in a plastic bag and are thrown in packing crates with other loose parts.